{Colorado} 2019 Visit

Life happens... it's been a busy, chaotic year. And... I never posted our 2019 Colorado Trip photos. So, I'll work on that but for now, here's some of the highlights...

We went out for my cousin's wedding (sibling to the one from last year) and enjoyed every minute! We wen to Pike's Peak, road the Royal Gorge Railroad, went sight seeing over the Royal Gorge, entertained the kids at the Dinosaur Experience in Canon City, and had a lot of fun, family time with the wedding. The weather was beautiful and it was another great vacation! 

{Missouri} Lake Visits

2018

2017

2016

2015  - ?!?!?!

2014 - Nate's first year (so uncomfortable in that life jacket!)

2013 

2012

2011

2010

2009

2000 - 2008 - we think were all at the same place, 2001 and 2002 may have been elsewhere

I'm trying to make a collection of all our photos (or at least the highlights!) from every year and making a small book through Shutterfly or a regular photo album. It'd be fun to flip through every year. 

Side note - I also thought about doing that for major holidays and/or birthdays. Like one page per scrapbook/photo album for year for the kids' birthdays, Halloween (to compare costumes!) and Christmas (which we already started). After so many years, I could make it into a book instead of a photo album. 

How do you store your photos? Do you do books or photo albums? Or are you all digital? I've lost many photos after computers have crashed so I'm trying to print all my favorites and save them "to the cloud". Some day I'll figure out how to get photos off three old computers - one of which is literally just the hard drive, not an actual laptop anymore. 

{Farm} Father's Day

On Father's Day, we went out to my parents' house for a swim and a celebration. My dad is the type that seriously doesn't want us to spend money on him for gifts. But he does love pie (who doesn't!?) and so I always try to make him one (or more...I once made 6 desserts for when he turned 60). This year we went all over the place looking for blackberries, which I thought would be in season and ready to go, but apparently not. So store bought worked, mixed in with a few frozen blueberries and blackberries from the farm last year. I ended up making a crisp and it was delicious!

My parents have had blueberry bushes for years and some of their bushes are close to 5' tall! Isn't this shot, of all the colors and variety of ripeness, just great? You can't go wrong with produce pictures. 

When Lily was born, my parents planted a miniature peach tree. They did the same when Nate was born and now both are producing! Lily's tree is a little taller than her and Nate's tree is slowly growing too. Let's hope for some good peaches! 

And I'll end with the below photo... 

Above shows "Naked Nate" (there may be a series coming, but I probably won't publish it publicly). We went swimming at their pool and then straight to the garden before dinner. Here they are, digging potatoes (which is super easy in my dad's custom soil mix!). I'd like to say there's some funny thing about why he's naked but he's 3, we're in the middle of the country, and his swim diaper was swollen. 

....

He really does like to be naked though. 

{The Farm} Blueberries and Birthday Cake

Hello!

Can you see the frog?? It's in a metal fish my mom has hanging from a trellis. It's been dry and hot lately, so he's hanging out in the shade. And pretty camouflaged! 

I have a whole series of pictures of my dad and Lily eating blueberries together so when this opportunity presented itself, I couldn't help but take photos. 

And yes, he's bottomless and barefoot. He needed help across the rocks. I'm not sure where his diaper went to but he knows he can pee outside at the farm (getting him to understand that its ok there vs other places is an issue). 

And a collage of cuteness as he shoves his tired face with blueberries. Never a dull moment with this kid! 

And not to forget big sis. She's the brave soul that tried out the pool. It was a little cold for the rest of us but she loved it. It's since warmed up and we've swam a few times. 

Also going on at the farm was my mom's birthday. We celebrated with a swim and some of their close friends (who are more like family than friends really) and I made carrot cake with cream cheese frosting. I also made a grasshopper pie and a jello salad but only photographed the cake. Nate thought it was his and kept poking it. It's a good thing he's cute. 

So good that it involves both hands! 

{Family Time} MU Vet School

A couple weeks ago, I gathered up my kids and met my parents and we drove to MU for their family fun day. We weren't sure what to expect but knew it would involve animals and since Nate is an animal loving kid, we thought it would be fun.

And what's more fun then starting the day off with a tractor ride?!!? We actually started with breakfast and some fire trucks to stare at, so he was already in Heaven. 

And Nate wears his sunglasses upside down every time. We show him the right way but it's harder for him to push them up on the top of his head when they are right side up. 

That bunny was gigantic! And it wasn't even the largest bunny in its breed. 

A wallaby anyone? 

Nate really enjoyed the baby animals. 

Lily even petted a few. No one stuck their hand inside the cow who has a hole (on purpose) on the side of its stomach. It's a vet school, so they learn from it. I was tempted but also grossed out. 

Lily was all for riding the horse. She got the lucky one that can dance and do tricks. 

Face painting for the win. She was completely passed out here. I love it. 

Nate was pretty exhausted too. 

Giving us their best "rawr!" faces!! It is home of the tigers, so they have to get it right. 

And then there was the locally made ice cream. Delicious! 

It was a fun, little chaotic, day of checking out the MU vet school. Maybe one of my kids will go there. I'd be fine with them living that close to home!!! 

My Brother's Birthday

Today would have been my brother's 36th birthday. Not a day goes by that I don't miss him but it hits a little harder on certain days - the anniversary of his death, his birthday, family holidays. 

I wrote more about him here and everything I wrote then is still the same. I still have trouble believing he's gone. My mom and I have talked about this and how it'll hit her at random times and how we sometimes feel that he's just been gone for awhile and that he'll be back at the next family function. It's the every day gatherings that we miss him the most in. Sure, holidays are hard, but we were a close family and we got together a lot. My parents have a pool that he never got to swim in and I know he'd have a blast throwing my kids into it. He never even got to meet Nate. Lily still remembers him even though she was only 2 when he died and I know she misses having that special uncle. Kids always loved him and Lily was definitely not an exception. 

I saw this quote on Pinterest last night and thought it was fitting. It's definitely true, except I'm not sure we feel whole. Physically, yes, but there's always that piece missing

{At the Farm} Wildlife

On Saturday, I took the kids out to my parents' house, aka "the farm". It was the 4th anniversary of my brother's passing so we got together. We originally planned to go to the zoo with my cousin and her son to get out of the house, kill some time on a horrible day, and enjoy each other's company. However, the weather in Missouri has been crazy so that did not happen. Luckily though the rain stopped to have a pretty enjoyable day… or as much as one can have as we mourn the loss of my brother. 

Anyway, he would not have wanted us to be sad, so let's focus on some positives… 

My mom has the best luck with hummingbirds. She's now up to 4 cups of sugar water a day for these feisty little flyers. 

In their "backyard" (as in it's behind their house but not really a true yard), my mom made a Japenese inspired garden. It's absolutely beautiful. In it, she has two small ponds. One being below, the other being an oval shaped. She always has bullfrogs and other creatures.

And due to having so many frogs and toads… tadpoles!!! (all those little black dots for those who have trouble seeing them)

And a baby toad (or possibly a bullfrog, hard to tell!). Ignore all the dirt on my hand, I was holding him until Lily could come check it out and my mom could get a photo. 

More randoms are on my Instagram account, thebrickbungalow or #atthefarm (but lots use that… I need a personalized hashtag I guess!) 

Come back for a few shots of my dad's garden. It's insanely awesome and produces some amazing, organic food!!! 

Happy Easter!

I hope everyone had a nice Easter! 

Lily and I were off work/school Thursday, Friday and today. She's been hanging out with her friends at daycare (Nate too) so I've had some time off around the house. Thursday and Friday were a mix of relaxing, working, shopping and getting ready for Easter. Luckily I finished our taxes too so that's nice! 

As for Easter, we had a great family lunch with my parents, Doug's parents, and my aunt and uncle. The littles (just my two) got some presents and had a small egg hunt in our Lily's Garden. My parents gave Nate a water table (which will definitely be put to use by both kiddos!) and Lily got Ariel's undersea castle from Legos. She loves the Disney Princess Lego castles and has almost all of their sets. 

Family - there are more photos on Facebook if you haven't seen them already. 

I didn't get much done on house jobs as I'd like due to some crummy weather, but I did get a few new plants purchased and planted. Nothing major, but some pot fillers basically and one white Bleeding Heart. I just love them!! More plants will be purchased next month before Lily's birthday. There's one spot (to the right behind Nate in the photo) that I always plant Gerbera Daisies. I'll probably do that again this year as Lily likes to pick out some colors. A few pots need some color too as I moved a few around. Luckily we get off a week or so before her actual birthday, giving me time to get the garden looking good!! 

{Family Fun} Pumpkin Patch

Last weekend we spent some time at our local Pumpkin Patch. I ended up getting some great photos (they're on Facebook for family to see) but after looking through some old photos, I thought I'd put together some highlights over the 6 years we've been going as a family.

2009 - a bright, beautiful day that ended up a little colder than I would have wanted, or that I had planned for. Lily was a good sport until the sunflower group photo.

2010 - a nice, warm day with a very mobile 1 1/2 year old Lily. 

2011 - our little fashionista with hair all over the place. I love the sunglasses and purse combo. The photo on the right continues to be one of my favorites, allowing a glimpse of what older Lily would look like. 

2012 - A fun, sassy Lily with an adorable dress made by her grandmother. 

2013 - our last outing as a family of three as Nate arrived a week or so later. 

2014 - a fun family of four (plus my parents and some friends) event that included some bumps and bruises to our almost 1 year old. Lily may be getting bored with some of it but handles it all like a champ, even though she's not a big animal person. 

See those giant pumpkins in the lower right hand side above? About a minute after that photo was taken, he tripped over a vine and face planted between two of the giant pumpkins, cutting into one with his teeth.